Long Beach Documentary “Sky Blue Sea” to Air on PBS

On April 6, “Sky Blue Sea” will be distributed via an internal satellite broadcast to all PBS affiliated TV stations nationwide. The locally produced one-hour television documentary covering Long Beach naval and aviation history initially premiered November 13 at Cal State Long Beach. PBS affiliates will have the opportunity to record the program on April 6 for later scheduling and playback at times and dates convenient for each local TV market.

Several PBS stations already have scheduled broadcast dates for early April. Long Beach residents will be able to watch “Sky Blue Sea” on PBS SoCal Plus, a channel originating from Costa Mesa, and on KVCR, the PBS station serving San Bernardino, Riverside and the Inland Empire.

PBS SoCal Plus will air “Sky Blue Sea” several times, beginning on Saturday evening, April 9, at 7 p.m. A rebroadcast will occur for early risers on the following Sunday morning, April 10, at 4 a.m. A third broadcast will take place two weeks later on Sunday evening, April 24, at 6 p.m. PBS SoCal Plus is transmitted over the air on digital frequency 50.2 and is available in Long Beach on Charter Communications channel 314 and Verizon FiOS channel 470.

KVCR in San Bernardino will provide a prime time broadcast of the Long Beach historical documentary on Sunday night, April 10, at 10 p.m. KVCR is available to Long Beach Verizon FiOS subscribers on channel 24 and in HD format on channel 524. PBS stations in San Francisco and Tucson, Arizona also are scheduling broadcasts of “Sky Blue Sea” for early April. Other PBS affiliates across the country will be providing airtime for the documentary during the next several months.

“Sky Blue Sea” was produced in the Advanced Media Production facilities at Cal State Long Beach. Advanced Media Production is a division of the College of Continuing and Professional Education at CSULB. Dave Kelly, Director of Advanced Media Production, served as writer and producer for the television documentary which was funded by a grant from the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association.

Production of “Sky Blue Sea” incorporated the use of early photos, old film and video clips of Long Beach from the city’s founding until the present day. The focus on naval and aviation activities enabled the re-telling of some of Long Beach’s greatest historical achievements, headline grabbing events and poignant tragedies. Producer Kelly noted, “Audiences across the country will be able to recognize or identify with the personalities, the ambitions and the events that placed Long Beach on the map and in the public spotlight. We anticipate a very successful run for “Sky Blue Sea” on PBS TV stations nationwide. The history of Long Beach will come alive on TV screens all over the United States.”

Viewers who would like to purchase DVD copies of “Sky Blue Sea” can do so by calling Advanced Media Production/CSULB at (562) 985-4352 or by sending an e-mail to ccpe-ampcenter@csulb.edu. DVD copies sell for $15 each plus tax and shipping charges.